Blood for Mom

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you..." - Leviticus 17:11

Ben & Kristin giving blood on 1/2/12

Our Father in Heaven has blessed my mom with a long awaited miracle. Through a church group, my mom met a man willing to donate her his kidney out of the goodness of his heart and wanting nothing in return. He turned out to be a 100% match to my mother on blood type, antibodies, and everything! This is truly a miracle of God! The transplant board approved the donation, and my mother will be receiving her long awaited kidney transplant from a healthy live donor on January 9th! That's right, only 3 more days now! I am so excited for her. To me, she is the world's greatest mother. No one deserves this more than her. I love you mom!

On the 2nd, I was able to go to the local blood bank and donate blood that would be designated specifically for my mom during her surgery on Monday. Ben came along to see if he could as well. Unfortunately, he turned out to be the wrong blood type to donate to my mom. So he decided to donate to the general population. Besides me, a few friends of my mom who happen to be the same blood type have also donated blood for her.

Donating blood is a powerful thing. If I'm remembering this correctly, you can save up to 3 lives with one donation. I encourage anyone who is healthy enough to donate to do so. The blood bank really is always in need, it's not just some scam. Besides, it's an important cause. Not even the friends of mine who are absolutely terrified of needles regret donating blood. Give blood. Save lives.

Best blood I've ever given. I love you mom!

Christmas 2011

"For unto you is born this in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord...Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." - Luke 2:11 & 14

Our Christmas this year was a very low-key affair. It was us, my parents, and my grandmother. We had delicious food, including bacon wrapped sirloin smoked over applewood. Creamed spinach, my famous bacon & cheddar biscuits, and my Christmas dessert staple: Panettone bread pudding. I actually had 4 different requests to make it this year, and numerous recipe inquiries. Santa Clause also treated us pretty good this year, including a MacBook Pro under the tree just for me. :)

We went to Christmas Eve services at my mom's congregation down in Sarasota. It was a beautiful program. We lit a candle in remembrance of our deceased baby. I don't know if that was appropriate, but it felt right to me. Afterwards we went to a Japanese steakhouse and watched our dinner get prepared in front of us. Quite a show. I think the last time I'd see something like that was when I was a kid.

Besides dinner, the rest of Christmas was spent watching movies (such as "The Nativity Story") and reading scriptures to keep in touch with the true meaning of Christmas. It is a day to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. I understand that many people celebrate the holiday without the religious aspect to it, and I respect your wishes. I would hope though that those who are Christians continue to remember the true meaning of Christmas and take the time to focus on the birth of Christ. After all, it is Christmas!

We hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, and wish that all of you have a safe and prosperous New Year!

There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on the world.

Mackenzie Angel Sandrowitz

With us in the womb for 8 weeks.

May 2011 - July 2011

Original Due Date: February 24, 2012

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." - Isaiah 49:15-16

The summer of 2011 brought us the most exciting news we had ever received since we became husband & wife. We found out that we were expecting our first child. It was a blissful, exciting month for the both of us. We were over the moon to become parents. However, our excitement was soon cut short. During a routine ultrasound, we discovered that our baby in the womb had died at 8 weeks gestational age. I had not had any symptoms or bleeding that one would expect would make it obvious that I was having a miscarriage. Our deceased little angel decided to stay inside my body. When I was 14 weeks pregnant and no signs of miscarrying naturally, my doctor decided it was necessary to have a D&C procedure. After numerous complications including a post-op infection, I can report that my body has made a full recovery from the miscarriage.

Emotionally, this was a painful loss that stabbed me deep in the heart. Just a few weeks earlier, I had seen our baby alive & well over an ultrasound. Then to see an ultrasound of my beautiful baby now deceased hurt so bad.

I don't completely understand our Heavenly Father's reasoning for wanting to take our baby away. It was probably the most painful death I have ever experienced. I have never cried so much in my life.

Why am I sharing this with everyone? Because I believe every child's life is worth celebrating. No foot is too small to leave an imprint on the world. Even though our baby is not here with us to physically hold, we know we have a child waiting for us in Heaven. He or she is just as much our child as will be all future pregnancies. In time, Heavenly Father will bless us with a baby perfect enough to enter this world.

We love our little angel baby. We are thankful for the short time we got to spend with our little bean. Thank you for what short time you've spent with us, my baby. Mommy & daddy love you very much. We will always miss you and look forward to being reunited in Heaven.